“Stop doing crime and focus on your school work”

Masindi Mabila (15) expressed her joy and said that the motivational guests couldn't have come at a better time than now when pupils are about to write end-of-year exams.

“Stop doing crime and focus on your school work”

The pupils at Kutama High School were urged to refrain from all acts of criminality and focus on school work as the end-of-year exam time approaches.

This was during the Department of Correctional Service's community outreach programme, where the department also invited other relevant departments and community structures to address the pupils on issues which affect the youth.

The spokesperson for the Thohoyandou Management Area (Department of Correctional Service), Mr Tshifhiwa Magadani, said that pupils needed to be given moral education which encouraged them to stay away from committing crimes. “It's important for us to tell the children about the dangers of involving themselves in crime,” he said.

W/O David Nkanyani from the Tshilwavhusiku police station dissuaded the pupils from indulging in acts of crime, because they may eventually have to battle a life with a criminal record. He stated that there was currently a problem of youths who frequented taverns and committed heinous crimes in the middle of the night when they were coming from those taverns.

“Our youths break into homes and steal articles such as phones, TV sets, computers and music systems,” he said. “Stop destroying your future and try to focus on your school work. Don't do things that you'll regret tomorrow.”

Responding to what different speakers said during the event, Masindi Mabila (15) expressed her joy and said that the motivational guests couldn't have come at a better time than now when they were about to write end-of-year exams. “We gained a lot from knowledgeable speakers who seemed to understand our emotional needs as pupils,” Masindi said.

The Department of Correctional Services and stakeholders visited pupils at Kutama High School.

Date:03 October 2014

By: Tshifhiwa Mukwevho

Tshifhiwa Given Mukwevho was born in 1984 in Madombidzha village, not far from Louis Trichardt in the Limpopo Province. After submitting articles for roughly a year for Limpopo Mirror's youth supplement, Makoya, he started writing for the main newspaper. He is a prolific writer who published his first book, titled A Traumatic Revenge in 2011. It focusses on life on the street and how to survive amidst poverty. His second book titled The Violent Gestures of Life was published in 2014.

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